Pt. 2 - Dr. Jeff Volek and Zach Bitter: Inside the FASTER Study and Low-Carb Fueling for Athletes

This series is brought to you by VESPA, Nature's Catalyst for Optimizing Fat Metabolism (OFM) and the cutting-edge sports nutrition for fat-adaptation. Give it a try! As a special offer for listening to this Endurance Planet series you can enjoy 15% off your purchase when you use the code “ep2015” at enduranceplanet.com/vespa and start your road to fat adaptation now! Listen to Part 1  be sure to tune into part one of the series before you continue on to part 2. What you get in Part 2 of the FASTER Study and Low-Carb Fueling Series: Defining the FASTER study & the Results “We’re charting new territories here in terms of what are the limits in how much fat humans can oxidize.” – Dr. Jeff Volek Previously fat oxidation rates were seen at 1g per minute prior; seen in this study. But the FASTER study showed up to 1.8g per minutes of fat oxidation – first to be documented in a lab setting! How this applies to performance: no bonking, mentally sharper/higher clarity, less muscular fatigue, etc. FASTER = Fat-Adapted-Substrate Oxidation in-Trained-Elite-Runners Purpose: physiological differences between elite male ultra-marathon runners with one cohort following a conventional high carbohydrate diet and the other following a low carb/fat-adapted strategy Subjects – how were they recruited, how many runners were involved, their athletic ability (elite), how the diets were monitored (HCD vs LCD) Low carb (50%) diets being tested Research protocol - what were the variables, what did the runners do (duration & intensity of running upon their visit, etc), what was being measured, etc? The 3-hour treadmill run at 65% VO2max, and in Zach’s opinion, what was it like to participate and have to run on the treadmill for 3 hours at a set intensity. Brain and cognitive aspects of performance, and how fat-adaptive/keto prevents brain from running out of fuel; and tying in Noakes’ Central Governer theory. Subjectively, how did HCD look running vs. LCD How LCD vs HCD actually burn fuel and the ratios of glycogen vs fat over the course of 3hrs, and how each performed Fat oxidation rates – how much FAT can humans burn?? What current science said until now, and how this study sets new ground for what we now know is achievable. One subject actually recording a rate of 1.8 grams /minute of fatty acid oxidation at a set RQ. Crossover point. More reading: Check out this great writeup on the FASTER Study with further details, charts, analysis and more. Zach’s Blog Dr. Jeff Volek’s other research and articles.